Through its IPO prospectus filing, Circle shows how, in 2023, it purchased the USDC company Centre for $210 million. On March 25, 2025, the company spent $210 million on stock to exit Coinbase’s 50% governing interest in Centre Consortium, which it launched with USDC. The news about last year’s saga between Circle and Coinbase creates a buzz because it shows their new direction.
The Deal Breakdown
In August 2023 Coinbase made a sensational move to acquire an “equity stake” in Circle because their Centre Consortium partnership was ending. They discussed strategic alignment at that time instead of showing dollar values as they disbanded the Centre. Circle published its IPO documents showing it gave 8.4 million shares for $209.9 million at the market value rate. Ultimately, Coinbase secured ownership of the company’s portion in Centre, which transformed Circle into the sole owner of USDC.
Circle indicated in the paperwork under “significant transactions” that they completed their acquisition of Centre by transferring all assets to another wholly-owned subsidiary by December 2023. Translation? After taking over Coinbase, they integrated all parts of Centre into their own business setup. USDC operates under Circle’s complete ownership because the company has absorbed all of Centre’s operations.
Rewinding the Tape
In 2018, Circle and Coinbase launched the Centre Consortium to create and supervise USDC, a stablecoin valued at 1 US dollar. They formed a collaborative team between Circle’s fintech and Coinbase’s marketplace platform to match Tether’s stablecoin. Understandably, they chose to stop working together in mid-2023. In its public Q3 announcement from 2018, Circle confirmed its plan to operate as the sole issuer of USDC. They made it clear that the Centre collaboration had ended.
During that period Coinbase failed to disclose important information. The $210 million stock swap. Based on their discussion with The Block in 2023 they described the transaction as a grant of equity rather than a purchase. The parties devised a structured strategy to merge operations and make Circle run the USDC operations.
Why It Matters
Circle took control of Centre through this transaction instead of doing a standard acquisition. By acquiring full Centre ownership first and then dissolving the business they secured complete control over the stablecoin USDC which has a $32 billion market value ranked second only behind USDT at $112 billion. The IPO filing shows Circle is ready to compete at a high level with predicted 2024 revenue at $1.1 billion and valuation reaching $5 billion. That $210 million in shares? For the stablecoin company that aims for financial future dominance only a small part of its assets.
Coinbase gains equity in Circle without having to use its $5.6 billion in existing funds. As USDC champion Circle operates the stablecoin platform Coinbase uses its financial reserves to gain income from reserves yet stays apart from day-to-day operations. In 2023 Coinbase explained this deal as creating better outcomes for stablecoin viability. The statement shows a mutual commitment to their partnership despite doing things in new ways.
The Bigger Picture
This move’s timing isn’t random. USDC transactions surpassed $8 billion in one day due to traders moving digital assets from risky altcoins like Ethereum (dropped 6%), which fell to $2.19. Circle may launch its IPO because crypto enthusiasm rose when Trump talked positively about Bitcoin while hinting at a U.S. Bitcoin reserve. Snagging full USDC control pre-IPO? Circle wants Wall Street to see it is prepared for big-business opportunities in this move.
The investment in Coinbase reduces the company’s risks. As Circle experiences its IPO success, shareholders, including Coinbase, will share in the profits. The two companies want to concentrate on their key tasks: Circle aims to strengthen its stablecoin leadership, while Coinbase focuses on running the top cryptocurrency exchange.
Circle and Coinbase will continue steering crypto development but without Centre. The story continues to thrive.
